"Actor: Florence Stanley"

• Outrageous Fortune | DVD | (19/07/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Sometimes a movie works despite all its faults. Outrageous Fortune has a flimsy, formulaic script, so-so production values and an odd combination of stars, but somehow it's engaging and fun. Shelley Long and Bette Midler play two struggling actresses--one a hoity-toity priss and the other a brassy slob--who learn they've been sleeping with the same guy (Peter Coyote) when he gets blown up in a terrorist assault and they confront each other in the morgue. When they discover that he's still alive, the bickering pair track him down, traipsing across the US in high heels, pursued all the way by government agents, using their dubious acting talents to get them out of tough situations. The absurd plot keeps things moving and director Arthur Hiller (Silver Streak, The Out of Towners) gets cheerful performances out of everyone, particularly the strong supporting cast--including Robert Prosky (Broadcast News, Mrs. Doubtfire) as a pompous acting teacher, comedian George Carlin as a burnt-out would-be Indian and the underused John Schuck (M*A*S*H, McCabe & Mrs. Miller) as a long-suffering agent. Although contrived and cliché-ridden, the film is just absurd enough to entertain. --Bret Fetzer

• Atlantis: Milo's Return | DVD | (21/07/2003) from £5.92   |  Saving you £12.07 (203.89%)   |  RRP £17.99

  The fearless explorers from Disney's hit animated movie 'Atlantis: The Lost Empire' are back. During his initial expedition Milo Thatch and company located the famous underwater city and rescued the mysterious kingdom and all its people. Now Milo Kida and their team gear up for more action when trouble surfaces above water but they discover mystifying powers at work. From the dusty deserts of the Southwest to the icy heights of the Nordic mountains the team's newest quest sets

• A Goofy Movie | DVD | (05/02/2001) from £5.98   |  Saving you £10.01 (167.39%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Even as Disney has revelled in the success of its high-end animated features, it occasionally sneaks a lesser effort into cinemas, based on one of the many TV shows with which it dominates daytime TV. This one is based on perennial Disney favourite Goofy's adventures in domesticated bliss. Goofy is now a single dad; when son Max gets blamed for a prank gone wrong at school, Goofy blames himself and decides that, for his vacation, he's going to get away with Max alone. Of course, this is no treat for Max, who has just met the girl of his dreams and harbours no wish to spend the summer touring America with his square dad. The vacation is one disaster after another, though they aren't particularly funny disasters; the culmination involves Goofy's efforts to get Max backstage at a big rock concert. --Marshall Fine

• Atlantis: The Lost Empire -- Two-Disc Collector's Edition (Disney) | DVD | (04/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The Disney Studio was built on innovation in animation, so it seems ironic that Atlantis is both a bold departure and highly derivative, borrowing heavily from anime, video games and graphic novels. Instead of songs and fuzzy little animals, the artists offer an action-adventure set in 1914: nerdy linguist Milo Thatch (Michael J Fox) believes he's found the location of the legendary Lost Continent. An eccentric zillionaire sends Milo out to test his hypothesis with an anachronistic crew that includes tough Puerto Rican mechanic Audrey (Jacqueline Obradors), demolition expert Vinnie (Don Novello), and butt-kicking blonde adventurer Helga (Claudia Christian). When they find Atlantis, its culture is dying because the people can no longer read the runes that explain their mysterious power source--but Milo can. Nasty Commander Rourke (James Garner) attempts to steal that power source, leading to the requisite all-out battle. Atlantis offers some nifty battle scenes, including an attack on a Jules Verne-esque submarine by a giant robotic trilobites and fishlike flying cars. But the film suffers from major story problems. If Princess Kida (Cree Summer) remembers her civilisation at its height, why can't she read the runes? Why doesn't Milo's crew notice that the Atlanteans live for centuries? The angular designs are based on the work of comic book artist Mike Mignola (Hellboy), and the artists struggle with the characters' stubby hands, skinny limbs and pointed jaws. The result is a film that will appeal more to 10-year-old boys than to family audiences. --Charles Solomon, Amazon.com

• The Fortune | DVD | (01/08/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The early 1900's with its Mann-Act (disallowing women to be transported across State lines for immoral reasons) brings a married man to devise a scheme for taking his upper-class girlfriend away with him... he simply has her marry his unmarried buddy. However, it doesn't take very long before both men start laying claim to her affection... until, that is, she's about to be cut out of her parent's fortune. So, a new scheme is devised, which only adds to their problems...

• My Dear Secretary | DVD | (22/03/2004) from £5.91   |  Saving you £2.07 (70.89%)   |  RRP £4.99

  If Charles Martin's wisecracking 1948 period-piece My Dear Secretary hasn't quite endured as a classic of its kind, it still commands attention as an appealing and often very funny curiosity. Kirk Douglas rightly earned his status as one of the titans of big-screen epic drama, so it's a surprise to encounter him in this romantic comedy as a feckless writer who can always find something to do rather than get down to work, leaving a string of outraged, frustrated or compromised secretaries in his wake. Douglas has a reasonably light comic touch and spars well with Laraine Day, in determined form as the secretary whom finally tames him and, in a notable strike for women's liberation, becomes a successful author herself in the process. But this is a film in which the supporting cast steal the best lines and scenes. Keenan Wynn is delightful as Ronnie, Douglas' neighbour and partner in the pursuit of pleasure. Some splendid high campery offers ample evidence that in a more enlightened age, Ronnie would surely have been openly gay. How else to explain his hilarious last reel marriage of convenience to the wealthy dragon of a landlady, played by the irrepressible Florence Bates? It isn't vintage screwball by any means, but My Dear Secretary is witty and literate enough to make you long for a revival in sophisticated cinema comedy. Truly, they don't make 'em like they used to. On the DVD: As the rush to release long-forgotten gems on DVD turns into a deluge, we will probably have to get used to the sort of disappointment on offer here: unrestored prints with no digital remastering and lousy sound quality, simply slammed onto the disc. The film could hardly be served less adequately. There isn't even any static background information on the production or the actors, making the package rather poor. --Piers Ford

• Trouble Bound | DVD | (17/02/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  An ex-con just out of the joint finds himself with $5000 a convertible Lincoln and a beautiful woman; that's before he's forced to go on the run from the Mafia...

• My Dear Secretary | DVD | (01/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  If Charles Martin's wisecracking 1948 period-piece My Dear Secretary hasn't quite endured as a classic of its kind, it still commands attention as an appealing and often very funny curiosity. Kirk Douglas rightly earned his status as one of the titans of big-screen epic drama, so it's a surprise to encounter him in this romantic comedy as a feckless writer who can always find something to do rather than get down to work, leaving a string of outraged, frustrated or compromised secretaries in his wake. Douglas has a reasonably light comic touch and spars well with Laraine Day, in determined form as the secretary whom finally tames him and, in a notable strike for women's liberation, becomes a successful author herself in the process. But this is a film in which the supporting cast steal the best lines and scenes. Keenan Wynn is delightful as Ronnie, Douglas' neighbour and partner in the pursuit of pleasure. Some splendid high campery offers ample evidence that in a more enlightened age, Ronnie would surely have been openly gay. How else to explain his hilarious last reel marriage of convenience to the wealthy dragon of a landlady, played by the irrepressible Florence Bates? It isn't vintage screwball by any means, but My Dear Secretary is witty and literate enough to make you long for a revival in sophisticated cinema comedy. Truly, they don't make 'em like they used to. On the DVD: As the rush to release long-forgotten gems on DVD turns into a deluge, we will probably have to get used to the sort of disappointment on offer here: unrestored prints with no digital remastering and lousy sound quality, simply slammed onto the disc. The film could hardly be served less adequately. There isn't even any static background information on the production or the actors, making the package rather poor. --Piers Ford

• According To Spencer | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Spencer has had a crush on the adorable Melora since he was 10 years old. Fifteen years later they meet again in Los Angeles when she crashes her car into his at a traffic light. Spencer is renting a room in a rundown mansion owned by two young film makers named Ezra and Feldy. They ask Spencer to play the male lead in their latest production in return for rent-free living for two months. Only when shooting begins does he realise that he is the star of a porn movie and has to deliver his lines with no clothes on.Melor is stuck in a self-destructive relationship with Craig an executive at the advertising firm where she works. No wonder then when Spencer steps into the triangle introduced by a loopy mailroom clerk Louis the relationship between the three becomes a crazy and funny dance of love and hate.If you want to know just how happy the ending is you should stick with every last laugh of this witty comedy.

• My Dear Secretary | DVD | (27/08/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  If Charles Martin's wisecracking 1948 period-piece My Dear Secretary hasn't quite endured as a classic of its kind, it still commands attention as an appealing and often very funny curiosity. Kirk Douglas rightly earned his status as one of the titans of big-screen epic drama, so it's a surprise to encounter him in this romantic comedy as a feckless writer who can always find something to do rather than get down to work, leaving a string of outraged, frustrated or compromised secretaries in his wake. Douglas has a reasonably light comic touch and spars well with Laraine Day, in determined form as the secretary whom finally tames him and, in a notable strike for women's liberation, becomes a successful author herself in the process. But this is a film in which the supporting cast steal the best lines and scenes. Keenan Wynn is delightful as Ronnie, Douglas' neighbour and partner in the pursuit of pleasure. Some splendid high campery offers ample evidence that in a more enlightened age, Ronnie would surely have been openly gay. How else to explain his hilarious last reel marriage of convenience to the wealthy dragon of a landlady, played by the irrepressible Florence Bates? It isn't vintage screwball by any means, but My Dear Secretary is witty and literate enough to make you long for a revival in sophisticated cinema comedy. Truly, they don't make 'em like they used to. On the DVD: As the rush to release long-forgotten gems on DVD turns into a deluge, we will probably have to get used to the sort of disappointment on offer here: unrestored prints with no digital remastering and lousy sound quality, simply slammed onto the disc. The film could hardly be served less adequately. There isn't even any static background information on the production or the actors, making the package rather poor. --Piers Ford

• Atlantis - The Lost Empire (Disney) | DVD | (04/03/2002) from £8.25   |  Saving you £-3.26 (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  In Disney's latest full length animated feature Milo Thatcher comes across a book of ancient maps and writings in a mysterious lost language. He puts together a team and sets off in search of the lost underwater continent of Atlantis.